Editorial

Call and promise

Kohlrabi in the Wiederkehrs root cellar. (Photo courtesy of Theo Wiederkehr)

“I will give you shepherds after my own heart who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.”

This is God’s beautiful promise in Jeremiah. Indeed, we need shepherds after God’s heart.

God have mercy on the Middle East

A building used by the Near East Council of Churches, a partner of the Mennonite Central Committee in the Gaza Strip. The building was damaged by the Israeli bombardment. October 13, 2023. (Photo courtesy of Neart East Council of Churches (via MCC))

As we prepare to send this peace-themed issue of the magazine to press, all eyes are on Gaza. Israeli tanks sit poised at its northern border, ready to invade. Long lines of transport trucks laden with aid sit at its southern border, as a humanitarian catastrophe unfolds. The people of Gaza, mostly civilians, sit in between—cut off, trapped, at the mercy of outside forces.

Tell us what you think

(Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay)

Have you completed our opinion survey? If not, here is your invitation to do so. We need your help to re-think how Canadian Mennonite (CM) can best serve the church. Please use the link below.

CM is actively researching new ways to gather and deliver news. We are looking at various options to engage our community in conversations about faith.

Birding with Alvin

‘I’m still learning all the time,’ says birder Alvin Dyck, pictured at Oak Hammock Marsh near Winnipeg. (Photo by Aaron Epp)

I don’t get out much.

That’s true for my personal life. My wife and I are homebodies and we jokingly refer to ourselves as “indoor kids”—a nod to the kind of children who choose watching TV or reading a book over getting outside and running around.

Of beets and chainsaws

(Photo by Will Braun)

If integrity is the currency of change, the Wiederkehr family of Mildmay, Ontario should have a chunk of change to spend.

In a world of compromise, greenwashing and homesteaders Instagramming their idealism, the Wiederkehrs have done far more than most to actually extract themselves from the consumerist machine that treats earth as waste bin and soul as credit card.

The poofy blue MCC couch

Not *the* poofy blue couch, but *a* poofy blue couch. (Photo by Giacomo Carra/Unsplash)

When I worked at the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) office in Winnipeg 20 years ago, I took pride in showing up early. Occasionally I even arrived before Norm, the custodian, who turned the lights on at 7 a.m.

Sometimes, I was also the last to leave.

I was doing advocacy with a Cree community and there was no shortage of passion or work.

The duty of tension

Maxime Bernier, former Conservative cabinet minister from Quebec, and now leader of the People’s Party of Canada—ran in the federal by-election in southern Manitoba, basing his campaign in the heart of Mennonite country. This image is from a June 10 rally in Winkler, where the big-city francophone politician has won the hearts of a suprising number of Mennonites. (Photo by Will Braun)

I did not plan to write about polarization—I’ve filled my quota on that topic—until Maxime Bernier held a rally near my home. Bernier leads the People’s Party of Canada (PPC) and may be the most prominent populist politician in the country. I couldn’t resist the chance to cross the political divide.

How I almost bought a Tesla

The Tesla that tempted me. (Photos from Kijiji post, compilation by Betty Avery)

I came closer than I’d like to admit.

Three weeks before a family road trip to Ontario, our ex-Hutterite mechanic gave our 2004 Jetta wagon the death sentence. The ensuing car search turned into a troubling family crash course in the psychology of real-life environmental ethics.

In-house acknowledgment

A selection of covers designed by Ross W. Muir, managing editor of Canadian Mennonite from 2005-2023, that feature his own photography. (Collage designed by Betty Avery)

With this issue of Canadian Mennonite, Ross W. Muir completes his time with the magazine. As managing editor for almost 18 years, he has undertaken a central piece of the work required to put the magazine together every two weeks.

Do we dare to succeed?

'I hear and feel two different narratives—one about keeping the doors open and another about bursting out of the doors on a mission.' (Photo by Manuel Hodel/Unsplash)

“I am convinced more so now than ever before that every neighbourhood deserves a Jesus-centred, disciple-making peace presence.” Norm Dyck starts the 2022 Church Planting Resource from Mennonite Church Eastern Canada with that conviction.

No shortcut to Easter

A mural in San Salvador shows Oscar Romero surrounded by peasants. (Photo by Will Braun)

It’s not easy to come up with fresh, new material for Easter, so we dug up something nearly 500 years old instead. We’re putting the “Menno” in Canadian Mennonite, literally—the original Menno.

The evangelical edge

(Photo by Gift Habeshaw/Unsplash)

Two readers recently wrote to me with concerns. “Over the years that we have received [CM],” wrote a Manitoba couple, “we have detected a constant shift toward liberal theology. . . . de-emphasizing evangelism, Christ’s life and ministry, and his death for our salvation.”

My prayer

Peter and Elfrieda Dyck share a laugh during a commissioning for an MCC speaking tour in 1994. (MCC photo/Canadian Mennonite files)

Let me share some wishes for Canadian Mennonite, which are largely my prayer for the overall endeavour of faith. These are topics I’m drawn to and challenges I note.

Parting thoughts

Virginia A. Hostetler (second from left) at work in the CM office in 2017 with publisher Tobi Thiessen, editorial assistant Barb Draper and managing editor Ross W. Muir. (CM file photo by D. Michael Hostetler)

My adventure with Canadian Mennonite began in October 2013, when I stepped into the newly created role of web editor. In March 2017, I became executive editor, teaming up with Tobi Thiessen, who began as publisher.

Three questions about content

(Photo by Climate Reality Project/Unsplash)

Movies and TV shows about journalism always catch my attention. How do publishing enterprises work? How do reporters and editors gather information? How are decisions made about the content that the public will see?

Here are questions that readers have about the content you read on the print and web pages of Canadian Mennonite.

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